Joseph A Schlitz Brewing Company, 11111 30th St., Tampa, FL

The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company opened its factory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1849 as the Krug Brewery. When Joseph Schlitz married Krug’s widow in 1858, it became the Schlitz Brewing Company and rapidly expanded. By 1902, it was the largest beer producer in the United States.

Schlitz expanded its manufacturing into Florida in 1958 when it built its 300,000-ft² brewery on 55 acres of the former Hillsborough Army Airfield, a World War II US Army Air Force Base, for $20 million.

Along with the manufacturing facility, the company built the Brown Bottle Hospitality House, a serving room and event space initially large enough to seat 200 people. Over the years, even as the brewery’s name changed, it served as a meeting room for many civic organizations and became a favorite of University of South Florida students, especially until the drinking age shifted from 18 to 21 in the 1980s.

In the late 1970s, the company struggled to keep its number-one ranking. The FDA also made regulatory changes that prompted the company to change its formula and, in turn, its taste. It caused a decrease in demand. By 1980, Schlitz had fallen to fourth place as Miller and Pabst took over. That ranking, along with a labor strike in 1981, caused unrecoverable losses. The company closed its Milwaukee brewery, and Anheuser-Busch bought the property. In 1982, the Stroh Brewing Company bought the Schlitz brand, and in 1999, Stroh’s assets were purchased by the Pabst Brewing Company. This property was the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company until 1982, when it became the Stroh Brewing Company, then the Pabst Brewing Company from 1982 -1983, the Specialty Brewing Company from 1983 – 1987, and back to Stroh’s in 1987.

Yuengling Brewery, headquartered in Pennsylvania, purchased the shuttered property in 1999 to help meet its Northeast production needs and begin distribution in the South. In 2013, the company completed construction of a new brewhouse, increasing its production capacity. In 2023, the campus expanded again with the opening of Yuengling’s Draft Haus and Kitchen, offering the company’s flagship beers and chef-inspired dishes made with locally grown ingredients. The new structure offers indoor seating for 300 with an additional 200 seats outside.

Pabst Brewing Company, which still owns the Schlitz brand and is now headquartered in Los Angeles, continued producing Schlitz beer for limited regional distribution until 2026. Then, citing rising storage and shipping costs, the company placed Schlitz Premium "on hiatus," ending its 177-year production run while leaving open the possibility that the brand could return in the future.

© Chip Weiner. oldtampaphotos.com